Having a versatile aquatic exercise device for facilitating upright and horizontal aquatic exercise is valuable.
This invention involves an aquatic exercise device. In particular, the invention is directed to a multi-purpose aquatic exercise device.
Aquatic exercise in the horizontal and upright positions is recognized as an excellent conditioner of the cardiovascular system and body musculature leading to increased endurance, strength, mobility, flexibility and overall physical fitness and sense of well-being while causing little or no stress or trauma upon weight-bearing joints and averting possible injuries associated with land based exercise.
Additionally, aquatic exercise in water less than body temperature allows for rapid dissipation of excess body heat, essentially preventing overheating.
An additional benefit of aquatic exercise is that it can be done in the safety and privacy of a backyard or community swimming pool.
A hand-held upper extremity embraced buoyancy device is a swimming kickboard. This allows the user's upper body to remain stationary, namely resting the upper body, arms and hands and facilitating the raising of the head above water. Exercise can be focused upon the large lower body musculature, utilizing flutter, frog or dolphin kick lower extremity motion. This conditions the cardiovascular system, strengthens the lower extremities and improves kick technique.
Deep water upright exercise buoyancy devices allow the user to exercise and condition the cardiovascular system, upper and lower extremities and most of the remaining body musculature. The user has free use of his upper and lower extremities and thus can for example run, jog, walk or "rock climb" in deep water, not touching bottom. Water provides for resistance to motion in all directions of the submerged body part and resistance increases with more rapid motion.
Deep water upright exercise buoyancy devices are known. These are, however, often poorly fitting, uncomfortable for small or overweight users, and unflattering in appearance when used by overweight users.
These known devices do not provide the additional function of being an effective hand-held buoyancy device, so-called swimming kickboard.
Further, these known devices are not readily adjustable for accommodating larger and/or heavier individual users. Nor do known devices have means whereby a user can selectively incrementally adjust the flotation tilt angle of the body relative to the vertical plane.
Additionally, there are solid flotation devices which are intended as swimming aids. These are positioned posterior to the lumbar and/or thoracic regions of the user's body. These solid devices, however, pose a possible danger to the user because of the tendency of these devices to rise or ride-upward causing the superior end or aspect of the device to lie posterior to the neck/cervical spine region, a relatively vulnerable region of the spinal column. A sudden hyperextension force/whiplash could cause severe damage to the neck/cervical spine due to the fulcrum effect of the upper end or aspect of the solid flotation device.
No presently-known aquatic exercise device effectively serves as a hand-held buoyancy device and a deep water upright exercise buoyancy device.
There is need for such an aquatic exercise device. Such device should be designed to
(a) limit the possibility of cervical spine injury;
(b) be easily and securely fastened and quickly removed;
(c) be comfortable and readily adjustable to fit a very wide range of users of variable body habitus;
(d) have favorable appearance characteristics when worn;
(e) be readily adjusted for larger or heavier individuals for total buoyancy;
(f) be readily adjusted such that the tilt angle of the user's body relative to the vertical plane can be selectively and incrementally adjusted by the user.
(g) be simple in construction and assembly, inexpensive to manufacture, easily maintained and rugged and durable in use.